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SHERWOOD – Friends of Sherwood Lake took a giant step toward restoring the aesthetically pleasing, high-quality fishery locals expect when the state Department of Natural Resources agreed to take responsibility for dredging the lake.

Without the FOSL, the area may never have been repaired or restored to a condition that reminds many locals of how important it used to be.

"They spread the word with raffles, got State Rep. (Bob) Kulp to show up," Clark County Forestry & Parks Manager Sean O'Donnell, who acted as a liaison between FOSL and the DNR said. "They not only won over the county, but caught their hearts. They put in a lot of time and effort to improve this resource, not just for people in this area. There are very few well-protected spots like this, where people can get away and fish or swim. It's just a nice little hideaway."

In February of 2014, a malfunction of the auxiliary spillway resulted in the water being drown down in Sherwood Lake. With the lake near empty, weeds and other oxygen-depleting muck filled the pond; Hay Creek was essentially the only water that flowed into Sherwood Lake, and now the weeds and muck need to be dredged to make the water fish-friendly again.

Clark County, owner of the property in southeastern Clark County off of Highway 73, didn't have funds to repair the dam or dredge the lake, so FOSL took on the project. It raised funds in hopes of restoring it to a beautiful resource and fish habitat for not only the community but all visitors.

Last week, FOSL got word that its plans will become a reality; the DNR will dredge the amount of funds raised by FOSL. For example, if FOSL raises $50,000, the DNR will do $50,000 worth of dredging.

"This is a huge thing," O'Donnell said. "This started with a small group of folks talking about doing something. (The) first or second meeting, there was just a handful of people; now there's nowhere to park. They got a lot of people hungry and passionate about it. They won over hearts."

FOSL submitted the dredging application on Feb. 2 to the DNR, which took soil samples roughly a month later.

The dredging project's goal is to remove weeds and muck from across the lake, but the cleanup was reduced from 160,000 cubic yards to 47,000 to cut costs. Dredging 160,000 cubic yards would have cost more than $1 million, O'Donnell said. The new projected cost is $200,000.

FOSL hopes to create a more suitable lake for fish habitat and, as the group's website says, "a beautiful resource that will last for generations, not just for us but for our grandchildren..."

While there is no guarantee the lake will become a world-class fishery, FOSL has done a significant amount to ensure that it's at least a possibility. The group has been encouraged not just by locals, but from folks thousands of miles away, FOSL co-chair Rosie Repinski said.

"We have gotten calls from people all over the place — East Coast, West Coast, down South — supporting us and what we do," co-chair of FOSL Rosie Repinski said "Sherwood Lakes is a beautiful place and holds a special place for those who grew up and learned to fish or swim there. It touches a lot of people."

O'Donnell said the group hopes to have the entire project complete before winter of 2016.

"Right now, tentatively we are hoping to get the dredging and habitat work done by the end of the summer and the county is hoping to do dam repair work late spring/early summer 2016 and still in 2016 put water back into the lake," O'Donnell said." needs attribution

Mitchell A. Skurzewski can be reached at 715-384-3131 ext. 324 or on Twitter @MSkurzewski